Official Blog of the New England Revolution

After more than a week of unseasonably cold temperatures and perpetually cloudy skies, the weather gods finally shined on Kennesaw, Ga., this morning. The temps have pushed into the lower-70s and there’s not a cloud in the sky, making for an ideal day here in the Northwest suburbs of Atlanta.

Most importantly, it made for fantastic conditions as the Revs conducted their final training session of their last preseason trip this morning on the campus of Kennesaw State University. Only four more training sessions remain – three in Foxborough and one in LA – before the season opener against the Galaxy next Sunday.

Of course, there is one last piece of business to attend to before returning to the Northeast, as the Revs will close out their preseason schedule tomorrow afternoon against the Houston Dynamo. Don’t forget – and how could you with how many times I’ve mentioned it? – you can watch that game live on Comcast SportsNet New England at 3 p.m. ET.

To get you up to speed on what’s going on in Revolution camp, here are some notes from today’s training session …

Matt Reis was the only player to stay behind at the team hotel during today’s session, as the veteran goalkeeper has experienced some tightness in his back since landing awkwardly during Wednesday night’s loss to the Columbus Crew. Reis will be held out of tomorrow’s game against the Houston Dynamo as a precaution, with backup Bobby Shuttleworth taking his place between the pipes.

Franco Coria will also be held out of tomorrow’s game against the Dynamo, as the Argentine center back experienced stiffness in his right hamstring during today’s training session.

Head coach Steve Nicol is optimistic both Reis and Coria will be available for next weekend’s season opener against the LA Galaxy, saying this about his decision to withhold the duo from tomorrow’s game against Houston: “We don’t want to take a chance. There’s no point. We don’t get any points for tomorrow’s game.”

Ousmane Dabo (R quad strain) and Alan Koger (L hamstring strain) continued their respective recoveries at training today. The duo began their workout with a light jog before finishing with extensive stretching, marking the first time either player was able to jog since their injuries.

Kevin Alston continued to ramp up his workouts as he recovers from a left hamstring strain. The third-year right back opened with a jog before moving on to agility drills with the athletic training staff.

As per usual for the day before a game, today’s training session was short in duration. After warm-ups and passing drills, the session moved straight into a brief 11-v-11 scrimmage, which finished scoreless. The session then concluded with shooting drills.

As a final reminder, tomorrow’s preseason finale against the Houston Dynamo will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet New England at 3 p.m. ET. We’ll have a written game recap here on revolutionsoccer.net following the match, but we won’t have our typical full slate of postgame coverage as we’ll head directly from the stadium to the airport for a return flight to Boston. Never fear, we’ll be back early next week with preview coverage as the Revs prepare for next Sunday’s season opener against the LA Galaxy.

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6 comments

Tom says:

March 13, 2011 at 12:41 am (UTC -5)

Don’t know much about muscle Training, but somebody has to say it…
All these injuries, so early, yet again… could this be the result of bad advice from trainers about how to use all those ‘wonderful’ machines — unbalancing muscles, tendons, etc. ???

Maybe the Revs front office should have hired soccer trainers who know their trade, instead of somebody’s brother-in-law. I feel sorry for the players, especially Alston.

Rjmm says:

March 13, 2011 at 9:07 am (UTC -5)

@ Tom I couldn’t agree with you more. Those were my exact thoughts on the matter. How is it yet again that the team is having so many muscle pulls! I hope the team can get healthy…and stay healthy!

backseat says:

Working Class Rev says:

March 13, 2011 at 4:54 pm (UTC -5)

I’m not inspired. Maybe we should change trainers.

d3 says:

March 13, 2011 at 5:52 pm (UTC -5)

sad game, not very excited for the season after watching this game. same crap, perovic and nyassi dribble way too much and the game falls apart. we have absolutely no forward presence, we signed over the hill guys from europe that probably wont play, or at least wont have an impact. Oh well, pretty sure this will be my last season as a season ticket holder unless something drastic happens, And i really mean it, it is a total waste of money when you can watch a college team play better soccer, pathetic crowds, pathetic front office, pretty sure pathetic coach (if he cant tell his players to pass the ball), pathetic owners, and lastly pathetic players. I feel i wasted my money this season already and i havent gone to one game.

SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE OR I AM DONE WITH THIS TEAM, GET IT FRONT OFFICE? I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE.

Frustrated Fan says:

March 14, 2011 at 9:47 am (UTC -5)

The Revs seriously need a new approach to training – whether it’s technique, nutrition, not resting players enough, etc. With young and old alike suffering the same lingering injuries season after season – something really seems critically out of balance in that department as compared to the rest of the league. Please, if you haven’t already, get an outside independent assessment and make the necessary changes. If you’ve looked at this before, do it again, because this does not appear to be working. It seems like ages since the best on this team have played together for any sustained period and in those brief stretches when they do, my excitement is tempered by dread of the next seemingly inevitable string of injuries that significantly reduces the talent on the field.